Beyou for a second time

Today at 10:49:01 GMT Jérémie Beyou, aboard his BPI, crossed the line winning the fourth and final leg of La Solitaire du Figaro from Les Sables d’Olonne to Dieppe. By arriving in Dieppe ahead of the rest of the fleet, and scoring his third consecutive victory, Beyou has won of the 2011 Solitaire du Figaro, an edition he dominated from the outset. Following his previous victory in 2005, this win means he joins the exclusive club of double winners of the event that is viewed as the world championship of singlehanded offshore racing.

On leg four Beyou covered the 437 miles in 72 hours, 37 minutes and 1 second, but it was one of the closest finishes ever for the race, with the first four boats crossing the line within just 35 seconds. Second place went to Paul Meilhat (Macif 2011) just 12 seconds later, third to Fabien Delahaye (Port de Caen Ouistreham) 28 seconds after the winner and fourth to Erwan Tabarly (Nacarat) after 35 seconds.

In a very similar fashion to Armel le Cléac’h last year, Beyou’s domination over the four legs was rarely challenged. On the first leg between Perros-Guirec and Caen, he typically led the fleet with Thomas Rouxel and Nicolas Lunven in the light airs up until 20 miles from the finish, only to be caught out in a bubble of no wind which saw him loose the leadership to Fabien Delahaye. He then went on to set the pace and lead on the breezy 470 mile second leg, mainly upwind from up Caen to Dùn Laoghaire. On the third leg to Les Sables d’Olonne, he also set the pace, leading in the medium and light airs. Never giving up, Beyou built his lead and then final triumph on the fourth leg, carefully fencing off all of his adversaries’ attacks. Jérémie Beyou also won all the four GMF Trophy prizes, awarded at the turning marks of each leg!

Beyou commented: "I feel a bit guilty, Paul (Meilhat) sailed really well on this last leg and he deserved to win. How do you win a Solitaire? It’s not only a matter of performances, it’s also about will power. You have to train, get organised, question yourself, never give up and you need luck too. It may sound obvious but it’s a combination of all these factors. And this year I had everything that I needed. I’ve been thinking about coming back to win since 2009, and I’ve done everything I could.”

On how he managed to keep his nerves, and his margin: “After the third leg, I told myself that I could do it again: I knew that Fabien (Delahaye) was a bit faster than me downwind, but I didn’t panic. I tried to remain self-confident. Because I know my strong and weak points and thats how I manage not to be anxious of my adversaries.”

About joining the double winners’ club: “Right, with Nicolas Troussel and Armel Le Cléach’, now we’re three from the Bay of Morlaix. We’ve always done everything together, but it’s amazing anyway.”

When asked if he will come back on the Solitaire Beyou commented: “I don’t know the answer. Maybe yes, but not just to be there. And physically it’s very tough, true I won three legs but I’m exhausted.”

What the winner likes most about the race: “The constant fight, the level of the competition. But there’s more, when you finish there’s such a special atmosphere, you feel at home, people are smiling at you and it’s nice to meet the others ashore. The organisers have made a fantastic job and it’s not only the sailors that make this race so special…”

Respect must also be given to 27 year old Fabien Delahaye and his Port de Caen-Ouistreham, winner of the opening leg into his home port who's third place into Dieppe on the final leg secured him second overall. Delahaye is certainly the rising star and future talent to watch out for in the Bénéteau Figaro class. The young sailor from Caen showed an impressive consistency finishing first, seventh, second and third in the four legs with only 35 minutes separating him from the winner in the overal cumulative points tally.

Delahaye commented: “First, seventh, second, third: I’m over the moon with my performance over the four legs and to jump on the second step of the podium is great. These are good results, but the Solitaire victory is calculated on total time and Jérémie (Beyou) never let me go. At times it was me at times him to be in front, but we’ve never been more than half a mile apart. We made the same choices, he was keeping a constant watch on me, and now and then we could even talk to each other. It was an amazing leg and I’m happy to have lived it with him! Two years ago I was fighting with Paul (Meilhat) for the rookie win and we were finishing in Dieppe, you can say that this is like a nice remake of the same movie. You have to be consistent and being there with the best ones on all the legs. There is a bunch of new kids to keep an eye on: Morgan Lagravière, Phil Sharp among the rookies, but also Anthony Marchand, Thomas Rouxel, Paul Meilhat… they come from everywhere!"

The final step on this year's podium went to Erwan Tabarly (nephew of...) on Nacarat, who finished fourth into Dieppe, but it was close - Tabarly had to wait until his closest rivals had finished to be certain of his bronze spot.

Tabarly said: "A fourth place in this last leg, I could have done better! I would have loved to finish with a win because I knew I could make it, but I’m on the third step of the podium and that’s brilliant. It’s been a long time that I have been up in the top ten, but I could not get on the podium, so that’s great. I still have to go up two places but it’s true that Jérémie (Beyou) was untouchable and Fabien (Delahaye) sailed very well. I set my watch to see if I was going to be third overall, Thomas Rouxel was too far behind but Nicolas Lunven was only 27 minutes back. Not that much. On this last leg it was impossible to relax, it all came down to detail, the good boat handling… This year’s format is very interesting, because you had plenty of little options to take all the time. We’ve been sailing round the rocks, with and against the current, wind shifting, coastal effects: enough to keep you busy. I hope one day I will win this race and I hope not to be 60 when I will!”

Both Nicolas Lunven (Generali) and Thomas Rouxel (Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Performance) finished leg four with a below par performance- 24th and 22nd respectively - losing their chance of securing third, with Tabarly finishing a mere 5 minutes ahead of them in the cumulative elapsed time.

Also remarkable about this year's Solitaire du Figaro was the presence in the upper echelons of the scoreboard of a number of newcomers: rookies such as Xavier Macaire (Starter Active Bridge), who finished 4th in Caen, Morgan Lagravière (Vendée) 12th in Dun Laoghaire, 9th into Les Sables d’Olonne and 7th into Dieppe - an impressive performance that rewarded the 24-year-old skipper from the Vendée region, not only with the overall victory in the rookie class, but also a remarkable 8th place overall. Second place went to Xavier Macaire (Starter Active Bridge), 8 minutes and 33 seconds behind, while Britain's Phil Sharp (The Spirit of Independence) was third rookie by only four seconds after more than 260 hours at sea!

Phil Sharp was aiming for the top ‘Rookie’ prize for the final leg and very nearly claimed it, but as the fleet converged on the finish line two other rookie’s beat him to the line. “The finish was the most exciting finish I’ve ever experienced,” reported Sharp. “The closest offshore racing you’ll ever see - three days of sailing and then you get 20 boats finishing within minutes!” Sharp finished just 10 minutes behind the first ‘Rookie’ and 24 minutes and 22 seconds behind Beyou.

For the four British sailors the final leg got off to a flying start with the youngest skipper of the fleet, 21-year old Goodchild (Artemis) in second position going into the first evening: “It was a very hard leg, mentally and physically,” said Goodchild. “It started well, the first 24 hours were good but then I got myself stuck in a hole and watched everyone sail past. I didn’t realise I was second at the beginning… I now need to finish in second not just start in second!”

Leg four was predominantly a tactical coastal race from Les Sables d’Olonne through the testing Ile d’Yeu, and navigating round Brittany Point before they faced the difficult passage of the Raz de Sein against the tide. Throughout the race the skippers faced ever-changing conditions with light and fickle winds through to heavy squalls: “This particular leg was very coastal, there was plenty of opportunity to sneak in and out of rocks and take slightly different options around Guernsey but at the major landmarks we all came back together,” explained Humphreys. “It didn’t matter if you went offshore or close inshore, as soon as you had to pass the next turning point we all converged.

“It was a really good leg for me, very close. I stayed with the lead bunch and the whole time we were never more than 4 or 5 miles off the front. It had bits of everything that leg.

“Ask me if it was harder than the Vendée? Yeah, I'd say it was harder than the Vendée. Ask me if I'll be back? I'll definitely be back, that was amazing."

For King, as with many of the skippers the thrill of one design racing where the winner will not be known until the very last seconds is clear to see: “The last couple of hours have been the best sailing we’ve had all race,” said King. “It was so close, we were changing positions all the time. I think I’m just going to go off and sleep for a couple of days!”

The solo offshore skippers have now refuelled and are catching up on some sleep. The rest of the week will involve a Leg Four prizegiving on Friday, the Overall prizegiving and dinner on Saturday at La Halle à Marée. On Sunday the 44 skippers will bid farewell to Dieppe and the 2011 Solitaire du Figaro, with a Parade of Sail along the beach in front of the crowds.